A success story.

• Author: Middleton, Saundra
• Position: Allen Marine Tours - Company Profile

Allen Marine Tours earned $80 its first year in business. Now it's worth $14 million and expanding.

A family that works together succeeds together. Or so it seems for Native-owned and -operated Allen Marine Tours, Inc. of Sitka.

In 1970, Bob and Betty Allen started Allen Marine to supplement their winter boat-maintenance business. With an initial investment of $14,000, the Allens bought a sunken, 62-foot wooden yacht They renovated the 1936 craft, named it the St Michael, and offered tours into Sitka's Silver Bay.

The entire family helped operate the business. Bob skippered the boat while Betty and their five children (Valerie, Natalie, Rob, Jennifer and Dave) deckhanded. That first summer, Allen Marine had 11 customers and grossed $80. Nearly 30 years later, the company carries more than 110,000 passengers and is worth roughly $14 million.

Family involvement continues. Three generations build and skipper Allen family boats. Bob is president; sons Rob and Dave are vice presidents. Betty, a Kaagwaataan Tlingit, names each boat after a family member's saint in the Russian Orthodox Church. The family owns the largest fleet of charter boats in the state, ranging from 34 feet to 110 feet.

The Allens began building their own boats in the early '80s. At the time, they were in search of a second boat with exceptional passenger viewing and became disenchanted with the offerings. So "The Mother Ship," as some call it, was born. Bob and Dave designed the hand-built, 77-foot monohull. The family put it together. And Betty christened the St. Maria at its launching in 1985.

One-and-a-half decades and 20 ships later, Allen Marine, fueled by a growing cruise ship industry, tours to Juneau, Haines, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjords, Gustavus, and now, Seward.

Their specialty is all-aluminum catamarans. In 1988, Allen Marine launched the 100-foot Alaskan Dream. The boat was the first catamaran ever built with four engines and four water jets. The 4-jet system earned the Aliens a place in the prestigious Jane's Book of High Speed Passenger...